Chapter 2031 Cai''s plan, Liu''s successor
A line of large and small ships sailed slowly in the Han River, and the flag standing on the bow of the ship, with a big Cai character shaking in the wind.
Cai Mao was sitting in the royal room, his gloomy eyes cast towards the north through the porthole. Cai Mao was going to take Cai''s soldiers, bypass Xiangyang, and lay in ambush in the Bishui area, waiting for the time to come.
In Cai Mao''s plan, Jiangling is a huge colosseum, which is specially used for fighting Cao Cao and Sun Quan.
For Sun Quan, Jiangling has been yearning for many years. Similarly, for Cao Cao, he must not allow Jiangling to fall into Sun Quan''s hands so easily.
Therefore, under such a premise, Cai Mao''s plan can be called a model.
According to Cai Mao''s knowledge, Lei Bo took refuge in Cao Cao and gathered rangers and bandits in Yunmengze. Therefore, when Lei Bo attacked Jiangling, Cai Mao used his internal support to make Jiangling fall.
Once Jiangling falls, Xiangyang will definitely shake. Liu Biao will not send troops to rescue Jiangling even if he dies, and there will be no good results. On the contrary, Liu Biao''s old thief, under the centrifugal force inside and outside, even if he has supernatural power, he can''t last for a few days!
If only this is the case, Cai Mao cannot ensure that he can still secure most of his interests in Xiangyang in Jingbei under the rule of Cao Cao. It is very simple. If both Xiangyang and Jiangling are controlled by Cao Cao, then it means that the Cai family is not very useful. …
On the other hand, Cai Mao also seduced Sun Quan to march into Jiangling. Of course, it may be inappropriate to use seduction. Cai Mao just "coincidentally" let Sun Quan know that Jiangling will undergo major changes at the right time. Facing the temptation of Jiangling, Sun Quan is also very likely to be willing to send troops to test it out. Afterwards, Jiangling City was first besieged by Zhou Yu and then attacked by Lei Bo. According to Zhang Yunzhi''s ability, it is expected that it will be difficult to defend. It will cause Jiangling to eventually fall into the hands of Sun Quan!
Cao Jun will certainly not watch Jiangling being occupied by Sun Quan, and it is natural to continue to send troops to attack Jiangling in order to expel Sun Quan''s forces from the Jingzhou area.
In this way, Cai Hao not only cleaned up Liu Biao and his son, but also led Cao Cao and Sun Quan to fight in Jiangling, so that his importance could be revealed, and he would have more time to integrate Jingbei and Xiangyang. The Kuai family, who has always sang against him, has achieved multiple goals.
It''s a pity that General Hussars seems unwilling to move, otherwise, there will be follow-up calculations...
Cai Mao took a deep breath, and the cool breeze on the water made it somewhat pleasant.
The technology of building ships in the Han Dynasty was already very mature. There were multi-storey superstructures on the deck, and cabins under the deck for pawns to paddle. The soldiers on the deck of the building ship held swords and fought hand-to-hand with the enemy. There is a half-height female wall on the side of the building ship to prevent enemy arrows.
Inside the parapet on the deck, there is a second-story building called Lu, and there is also a parapet around the hu.
There is a third-story building above the hut, called Fei hut, and most of them use crossbowmen to provide long-distance firepower.
The highest floor is the royal room, which is equivalent to the wheelhouse and command room of a modern ship.
People always like to go to high places, so the highest royal room naturally belongs to Cai Mao''s space.
If you want to grab benefits, it is naturally risky...
The building boat that Cai Mao is currently riding on and some of the surrounding ships were all secretly built by the Cai family in Caizhou, and they are also an important tool for transferring Cai''s personnel.
Caizhou has water on three sides and land on one side, so once the land is blocked, it will be difficult to get out, so it is better to go by water. Of course, Jingzhou also has a navy, but the Jingzhou navy is used to defend Jiangdong. If Liu Biao dares to use the navy, hehe, whether he can catch up or not is another matter. Just because the Jingzhou navy left the water village, Then the Jiangdong navy will inevitably take advantage of the vacancy, and when the time comes to attack on land and water, let''s see how Liu Biao defends!
If Liu Biao just used some fast warships to catch up, relying on the combat power of Cai''s building boats, he would not be afraid at all. He didn''t even need to fight in a row, and he could crush those warships to pieces. What''s more, Liu Biao is definitely not worried about sending Gan Ning out. After all, if Gan Ning is far away from Xiangyang, and then Wenpin makes a slight move, Liu Biao and Liu Cong, old and young, will definitely not be able to control it!
Gan Ning can only be in Xiangyang, and then check and balance with Wenpin, Liu Biao will feel at ease. Therefore, Cai Mao, who is currently in the middle of the building, feels that he should be relatively safe, and there will be no pursuers coming to kill him.
However, it is also possible that the northern part of Jingzhou will also be contaminated with war, and Xiangyang will be corrupted...
Cai Mao does not deny this point.
But for Cai Mao, Jingzhou was originally the base of the Cai family, and Liu Biao was just an outsider. Even Cai Hao married his sister to Liu Biao, and supported Liu Biao all the way to a high position. Still thinking about uprooting the Cai family, how can this make Cai Mao swallow this breath?
How much help he provided to Liu Biao before, now Cai Hao hates it. When the Liu family and the Cai family cooperated before, Cai Mao seldom calculated what the Cai family provided, but now when the Liu and Cai families began to break up, looking at the lists that were pulled out one after another, Cai Mao’s heart was burning with anger. inhibition.
Liu Biao, Liu Jingsheng, **** old man!
It is also difficult for Cai Hao to distinguish whether his anger towards Liu Biao is really because he did not get what he deserved, or because he was deprived of his authority...
Some things, when you have something, you don''t care about it, but when you lose it, you hate it, regret it, and get angry for no reason, and then you will eventually find an excuse for yourself to vent your anger.
It''s all because of Liu Biao!
all of them…
『Report! Found someone on the mountain shore! ’ shouted the soldiers of the Cai clan who were on the lookout on the mast.
Cai Mao heard the words and transferred out of the royal room, "Where is it?" 』
Cai Mao looked in the direction of the soldiers on the mast, and indeed saw some flags and figures on the cliffs on the shore in the distance, and his heart skipped a beat.
This place should not be stationed by Liu Biao''s soldiers. Why did more people come out suddenly?
It got closer, and the flags of the generals on the cliff were gradually recognizable. Black characters with red borders on a white background, Liu.
『Mr. Liu? Who will it be? ”Cai Mao pondered in his mind, obviously it couldn’t be Liu Biao and Liu Cong, and then a name popped up, “Liu Pan? 』
『Patriarch, what should we do? Do you want to stop the ship? ’Cai Mao’s men asked.
Cai Mao looked at the cliff in the distance, and then snorted, "Send the order!" The boat goes first to check whether there are iron chains blocking the river underwater! Steer the boat! slow down! Stay off the cliff side! 』If Gan Ning really came after him, Cai Mao would still be a little bit afraid, just like Liu Pan, hum...
Following Cai Mao''s order, Cai Jia, who followed the boat, accelerated forward, grabbed the front, and then stretched out a long hook rod from the ship''s side to the water. If there is an iron chain submerged in the water, it will be pulled up by the hook rod. At the same time, there is also a giant ax on the scorpion, which is specially used to deal with this kind of iron chain blocking the river.
Iron chains are generally made of cast iron, and the quality is naturally not as good as steel. Of course, in the Han Dynasty, no one was willing to use steel to make iron chains, including the guy Fei Qian...
So such iron chains blocking the river, not to mention chiseling with a giant axe, if more ships are blocked, the effort may be too heavy, and they may break by themselves. Therefore, most of the time the iron chains blocking the river are placed in three or four intervals, not for Completely blocked, but used to delay and destroy the opponent''s fleet of ships.
Sure enough, Cai''s scorpion hooked up an iron chain, and then stopped on the side of the iron chain immediately, and began to destroy it.
The soldiers of the Liu family on the cliff began to shoot with bows and crossbows. Although it was said that they also shot down some soldiers of the Cai family on the scorpion, the wind on the water made the arrows easy to float, and a shield was erected on the other scorpion to cover Most of the vital points were captured, so although some soldiers of the Cai family were shot and turned over into the river, there was no way to completely prevent them from destroying the iron chain blocking the river.
『Haha...』 Cai Mao looked at it, sneered, and said, 『Sure enough, it’s not enough.』
Because the iron chain blocking the river ahead had not been completely broken, Cai Mao’s building boat also began to slow down, stretched out the oars from the cabin, competed with the current, and stopped outside the boundary of the cliff.
Obviously, after all the iron chains blocking the river are destroyed, they can naturally go down the river, even if Liu Pan on the cliff occupies a favorable location, so what? Although Cai Mao couldn''t beat Liu Pan, Liu Pan couldn''t beat Cai Mao either.
The two sides seem to be deadlocked.
At a **** on the bank, dozens of soldiers of the Liu family were busy, and beside these soldiers were three ballistas that had already been set up. This kind of ballista, which was originally used for defense on the head of Xiangyang City, was dismantled and transported here at some point, and not far behind the ballista, you can still see more than a dozen altars and pots.
In the ballista, a giant crossbow like a spear has been placed in the arrow slot. At the end of the spear and giant crossbow, there is also a long hemp rope, which is stacked on the crossbow like a snake. beside the car.
On the cliff, it is naturally far away from Cai Maolou boat, but here, it is much closer.
The ballista is not a rare thing, the main reason is that it is expensive, and the other is that the spare parts are easy to break and often need maintenance. The slow rate of fire is also a problem, so the general ballista is used to defend the city, even if you want to To hit the target, one must be relatively large and the other must not be fast, and now, Cai Mao''s building boat just meets this point.
The sound of rumbling war drums sounded over the cliff. At the beginning, Cai Hao was startled. He looked up subconsciously, but saw only some red flags waving, and there was no additional change. When he was doubting, he suddenly heard the startled sound of his men. Screaming: "No! Ballista! It''s a ballista! 』
The twigs that originally covered the shooting range of the ballista have been removed amidst the sound of drums, exposing the sharp and barbed spear bolts, and immediately following the sound of an order, the three ballista came one after another. Launched!
The spear dragged across the water with a hemp rope!
Under such circumstances, it is natural that the accuracy cannot be ensured to be very precise, but the cross-sectional area of ??Cai Maolou''s ship is too large, so all three crossbow bolts hit the hull of the building''s ship, one is lower and two are higher. Some.
The huge crossbow pierced the hull, and the sawdust flew across, making a teeth-stinging sound, which made the Cai Jun soldiers on the upper boat feel as if their bones were rubbing against each other, and they couldn''t help feeling a burst of fright. Fortunately, it was the hull of the ship that was shot. Otherwise, with the wooden shield in his hand, in front of such a huge crossbow, wouldn''t it look like paper?
"quick! Cut the rope! ’Cai Mao shouted loudly.
Whether you want to tow the building boat over, or pull the building boat to tilt and cause it to capsize, you must pass these ropes, so Cai Mao, who has sufficient experience in water warfare, immediately issued an order.
Ropes were attached to the spear-like crossbow bolts, and after being shot into the building, they were quickly stretched straight. Immediately afterwards, black figures slid down the ropes from the high **** on the opposite bank. , and then getting faster and faster, and then with a "snap", it hit the side plank of the ship''s side, smashing into pieces!
『Cut the rope! That''s kerosene! Cai Mao''s voice became shrill, "Bring the sand!" Quickly fetch sand to put out the oil fire! 』
Because what was contained in the earthen pot bumped along the rope was the kerosene that is often seen in city defenses! With the rupture of the earthen pot, fire oil splashed everywhere, most of it was stained on the building boat, and a small part fell into the river, smudged with different colors!
One after another, the crossbow arrows were projected, and then the ropes were connected up one by one. The sound of crackling crockpots was like the grinning grin of death. With the subsequent projected rockets, some kerosene was ignited, and then quickly began to spread.
Thick smoke billows and flames blaze!
In the inland river, the building boats are like the existence of overlords. Ordinary small boats can''t compete with the building boats at all, but no matter how powerful the building boats are, they are also made of wood. In the end, even the surface of the water began to burn. Although the ropes on the crossbow were also burned, the entire building had turned into a huge torch, and then the oarsmen in the cabin also fled one after another, without oars. The building boat maintained by hand went down the water, and collided with Cai''s scorpion in front of the building boat, and then overturned and cracked it.
In the panic of Cai''s soldiers, although Cai Mao''s orders were correct, they had little effect. One was that the Cai''s soldiers on the building boat had not yet entered the fighting state, and the other was that although there was sand on the ship, it was not available everywhere. Yes, under the rapid fire, it is too late...
The sails on the building boat were quickly ignited by the flames of sparks, etc., and then formed a larger area of ??combustion. The raging fire swallowed half of the building boat. It''s not easy to tell, let alone give orders.
Some soldiers of the Cai family were so uncomfortable from the smoke that they slammed into the fire and had to go underwater, but the armor on their bodies dragged the actions of these soldiers. Some escaped from the flames, but There are also many that will sink in the water forever.
For Cai Mao, Liu Pan is not a threat at all if it is a head-on confrontation. Even if it is not a water battle, Cai Mao will have a certain advantage even if he goes ashore to fight in formation, but now, he is at a disadvantage and even in danger. Instead, he became Cai Mao.
Although it is said that the flames are monstrous, it is not possible to burn the building to ashes in a short time. Under such circumstances, some soldiers of the Cai family were stunned and panicked, while the other part of the soldiers of the Cai family who reacted faster were to start In order to save himself, without waiting for Cai Mao to issue any specific order, he immediately rowed the warship and quickly approached Cai Mao''s building boat. More than a dozen warships surrounded him, some of them used wet mud to splash the kerosene flames on the building boat, and some It is to rush to the other side and pull those companions who fell into the water onto their own boat.
For a moment, the surface of the water was extremely chaotic, and then formed a lump, which got stuck in the iron chain below the cliff. They collided with each other, and even some boats were directly knocked over. The Cai family on the boat seemed to be dumpling randomly thrown into the pot, splashing water, floating and rolling in the fire and water.
Liu Pan on the cliff shouted orders, and all the crossbowmen stood on the edge of the cliff, shooting downward desperately, waves of arrows and crossbow bolts flew out, thinking of shooting at the huddled Cai''s fleet .
The soldiers of the Cai family were busy rescuing the people on the boat. Although there were warships rushing up to protect them, they were still caught off guard by the arrows. People kept being shot and fell into the water, causing blood-red splashes. Cai''s soldiers wanted to rescue people and put out the fire at the same time, they had no way to guard against the attack from the cliff, and they looked in a panic when they were outstretched from left to right.
Originally, in water battles, the building ships have the strongest attack power, not only because of their large size, they can directly collide and crush opponents, but also because there are more fighters on the building ships, which can organize effective attacks. Ordinary warships, such as 艨艟, are flexible and have soldiers, but among these soldiers, at least half of them are responsible for paddling. In fact, less than half of the soldiers can really pick up weapons and attack at any time, and maybe even only one-third . But now, Cai''s biggest advantage has become a weakness. With a huge body, he can''t attack, and can only be beaten passively.
Cai Mao was rescued to another ship, seeing how much painstaking efforts, time and money he spent building the building, it became a huge torch, and his heart bleeds.
However, after all, Cai Mao had been immersed in the army for many years, so he immediately ordered some of the warships to dock to suppress the opponent''s ballista positions and attack the cliffs. Open the waterway.
The two sides fought together on the river bank.
The lethality of the ballista is undoubtedly huge. These crossbow bolts, with howling, often hit a ship with a hole, and hit a human body with a big hole. If they hit the bottom of the ship by chance, it will even cause the river to pour into the cabin. For a small boat without a watertight cabin, this is undoubtedly a huge disaster, and it may even cause the entire ship to lose its combat capability.
The crossbowmen on the cliff also brought huge troubles to Cai''s soldiers. Almost every rain of arrows would lead to a decrease in Cai''s soldiers, and every death of these Cai''s soldiers would be one less. In the short term, they will not get any In addition, it means that it is even more difficult for Cai Mao to control the northern part of Jingzhou and regain Xiangyang.
After landing on the shore, Cai''s soldiers also showed their original strength and rushed into the ballista position. Although the ballista has powerful attack power, but its rate of fire is slow, it can''t exert any power after being approached by Cai''s soldiers. In a blink of an eye, Cai''s soldiers killed Liu''s soldiers, and then smashed the ballista. It was set on fire and burned down, but Liu Pan on the cliff saw this and didn''t want to fight. Taking advantage of the fact that Cai''s soldiers would not be able to climb up for a while, he led his people away...
(end of this chapter)